Teacher suspended for bonk with a banana

A North Marion High teacher was suspended for three days without pay this week for touching a student in the head with a banana, according to School District documents.

By Joe CallahanStaff writer

A North Marion High teacher was suspended for three days without pay this week on accusations he touched a student in the head with a banana, according to School District documents.The parents of the student contacted the district because they felt the teacher, Jonathan Hampton, crossed a line during discussions about the Freudian implications of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Hampton teaches college-level courses as part of the North Marion's magnet program, called Advance International Certificate of Education (AICE).The incident was reported by the girl's parents on May 6, about three months after it occurred.Hampton referred all comments to Plantation attorney Mark Fiedelholtz, who is also his stepfather.The attorney said Hampton — who had gotten the banana at lunch — tapped the student with it to get her attention."There was nothing else to it," Fiedelholtz said, adding no student in the class complained about the incident during the months afterwards.The district concluded that the teacher-student contact warranted the reprimand and suspension for professional misconduct.School District spokesman Kevin Christian said "Freudian" discussion is part of the curriculum in the college-level course.Deputy Superintendent Rick Lankford wrote in the reprimand that Hampton used poor judgment by using "a banana to make physical contact with a student during a discussion on cylinder objects, phalluses and/or sex symbols."Contact Joe Callahan at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.